English
Kinyarwanda
The Rwanda National Police (RNP) Fire and Rescue Brigade, on Thursday, rescued a newborn baby from a pit in Muhanga District,
The five-day baby girl was rescued at about 11am, about six hours after it was dumped in the pit by the biological mother.
How it happened
On January 6, the mother checked in at Kabgayi hospital to give birth. Later that morning, the baby girl came to earth by c-section.
Unfortunately, the baby was born with health complications, and was admitted.
On the fateful morning of January 10, at about 6am, the mother was called by the medics to breastfeed in the room where the baby was getting treatment.
According to investigations, when the medics moved out of the room, the mother clandestinely took out the baby and dumped her in the nearby pit latrine.
"After throwing the baby in the pit she (mother) came back crying and told her mother that the baby had been stolen from the medical room," Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Karekezi, the Police spokesperson for the Southern region, said.
"The suspect's mother called doctors, who in turn called the Police. However, other women who were in the hospital continued pressing and accusing her of killing her own child," he added.
"People at the hospital and neighbouring communities started moving around the hospital in search for the baby and that's when some of them heard the baby groaning in the nearby pit at about 10:30am, the fire and rescue brigade was called in, they worked with the residents and the baby was retrieved alive at about 11am," the spokesperson said.
The baby is still under medical attention at Kabgayi hospital.
The mother, according to CIP Karekezi, was also placed under custody.
It is said that the mother undressed the baby and hang the clothes on the berbed wire fence to make it look like she was taken out of the hospital perimeters.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jean Baptiste Seminega, the Commanding Officer of Fire and Rescue Brigade, the rescue took about 15 minutes.
"This is a despicable and heartless act; what kind of mother does that," ACP Seminega wondered.
He, however, thanked the residents for the quick response to search for the baby and facilitating the successful rescue.
